Thursday, December 22, 2011

Reflection and goals

A lot of my 2011 resolutions I kept to myself, and while I don't remember all of them, I do feel much better about my growth into the person I want to become.

In the past year I have learned to put myself first more often than I had.  I've learned to say "no" a little bit more.  I've carved out a little bit more "me" time amidst the chaos.  I handle a lot of things better than I used to, I'm calmer.  My future is bright.  I'm happy.

Goals for 2012 consist of the following:

- Continue to remain calm in all situations, keeping a calm mind and my wits about me will be much more helpful in overcoming difficult things, and help bar me from jumping to undue conclusions.
- Keeping my mouth shut more, I feel like I blabber about nonsense to fill silence at times when I'm with people I'm not 100% trusting of.  I'd really like to bring this practice to a halt and just be comfortable with silence in all occasions.
- Continue to be slower to judge.  Keep an open mind about things; take everything I can in and just sit and process it for a bit.  Become more like one of Tolkien's ents and make my life "less hasty".
- Learn some new skills as far as "making food" goes, and yes, this involves some new recipes entering my repertoire.
- Continue carving out "me" time and more time to get outside with the pup.  Still striving for that perfect balance of a healthy lifestyle...
- Don't beat myself up over silly things, quit sweating the small stuff.
- Find a way to stop my mind at the end of the day so my quality of sleep can be a little better.  As much as I enjoy dreams about flying, riding, and contorting my body like an expert yogi, I'd rather feel rested in the morning.

I'm sure that list will evolve a little and grow here and there.  In addition to it, I hope to pursue the following on my 30 before 30 list:

+ Hike in the Tetons
+ Stay at a B&B
+ Climb a 14'er
+ Pursue yoga-ing everyday
+ Visit the Redwoods (and maybe Yosemite?)
+ A wolf perhaps?  I will be in wolf country in March it looks like!
+ Pursue my visits into my final 12 states
+ Learn how to telemark ski (I've got my boots and hope to find skis in the next month if it would F*#)@ snow)
+ Sleep in a hammock instead of tent while camping
+ Visit NYC (birthday weekend!)
+ Learn how to pack a horse and travel in the backcountry (c'monnnnn JUNE!)

Were I to complete all of the above, I would be half-way through my list.  Its a start!  I doubt I will complete all of the above, but 2012 has a lot of promise.  There is a high potential to do each of the above this year.  Its great to have my goals down in writing in a place where I can frequently note them.  Its helping me to mold my lifestyle and life choices to accomplish things that mean a lot to me.

But I have unwritten goals, too.  Like finding future-super-star horse.  And being able to ride and train said horse every - or nearly - day.  And having not only a job that I [firstly] enjoy, but one that [secondly] can support my pursuits with animal, travel, and adventures.

A valuable lesson I learned over the summer was that happiness is the ultimate goal to anything.  Knowing and understanding this has made a world of difference for me.  Behind a lot of the things I pursue, the question was first asked, "Will this make me happy?"  If the answer is "yes", then onward I pursue it.  Yes, I must be careful not to make mindless decisions in the process, but I am confident I have a good head on my shoulders.  When my judgement is flawed I have valuable friends to guide me.  That's worth everything in the end.

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Have you started thinking about your goals for the year to come?  Things you'd like to accomplish?
Do you have a list of things to do before a certain deadline/age?

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